Although it was HTC's second victory of this year's Tour of Britain, it was not all good news for the team as Alex Rasmussen did not take the start today after his contract was terminated when the team was informed that the Danish rider had missed three out of competition anti-doping tests this year, which means he may be subjected to a two-year ban on competition

Won't do much for his team search for next year - had he actually signed ?

Cycling's governing body UCI said Wednesday that it has temporarily banned Australian rider Deon Locke from the sport after he failed a doping test in October.

"The UCI advised Australian rider Deon Michael Locke that he is provisionally suspended," said the International Cycling Union, adding that the ban would last until the Australian Cycling Federation rules if the rider had indeed flouted anti-doping rules.

The Australian failed a test during the Tour of Hainan when phentermine was found in a urine sample taken from him on October 23, 2011.

Locke's Champion System continental team said the rider had been suspended from the team following the Adverse Analytical Finding.

"Alexandre Dougnier, an amateur French cyclist, tested positive for at least 12 banned substances, including at least 7 steroid metabolites, at a race in Aubervilliers (France) in May 2011. The teenage cyclist was banned for three years from competition in what may be a record for an athlete caught using the most banned substances.

The urinalysis revealed the use of what appears to be drugs related to the anabolic steroids Winstrol, Dianabol and Anavar. The following steroids were identified in Dougnierâ€™s urine sample: 3-Hydroxystanozolol, 16b-Hydroxystanozolol, 4b-Hydroxystanozolol, Oxandrolone, epi-Oxandrolone, 6b-Hydroxymethandienone and 17-epi-Methandienone.

Dougnier was a third category cyclist with the Parisian Athletic Club de Boulogne-Billancourt. Could it be possible that Dougnier was a follower of the clubâ€™s most notable doper Jacques Anquetil? Who says that young cyclists have no respect for the elders and the history of the sport?

Anquetil was a member of the AC Boulogne-Billancourt cycling club during the 1950s and 1960s. During this time, Anquetil became the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times. He also won two Olympic medals, two Giro dâ€™Italia and one Vuelta a EspaÃ±a.

Anquetil was also known as an unapologetic doper who famously defended the use of performance-enhancing drugs during a televised debate with the French sports minister. He said that only a fool would endure the agony of participating in the extreme sport of cycling riding through â€œthe cold, through heatwaves, in the rain and in the mountainsâ€ without the use of drugs. He saw drug testing as a â€œthreat to individual liberty.â€

â€œLeave me in peace,â€ said Anquetil. â€œEverybody takes dope.â€

While anabolic steroids may not have been the â€œdopeâ€ of choice among cyclists during the 50s and 60s, the more dangerous amphetamines definitely saw widespread use. However, the use of anabolic steroids has became increasingly popular among the peloton over the past 20 years.

When the 2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis got caught using the steroid testosterone, his legal team attempted to argue that anabolic steroids provided no performance-enhancing benefit in endurance sports like cycling.

Convicted steroid dealer and cyclist Joseph Papp discredited this argument when he testified that the use of steroids was widespread in elite cycling. He exposed how easy it was for cyclists to use testosterone gels without getting caught by the anti-doping police. It was simply a matter of proper timing and application to avoid detection.

Of course, Alexandre Dougnier threw caution to the wind and apparently used steroids and other PEDs without attempting to avoid detection. Most likely, Dougnier had no idea that the race in Aubervilliers would be a drug-tested event."

There's been 2 or 3 bans issued to masters cyclists following doping control testing at US Masters road nationals last September. And another to a masters track rider from Florida who refused to provide a sample.

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